مسلمانوں کا نیوٹن ۔ ڈاکٹر عبدالسلام — Page 406
396 Encounters With Salam Prof۔Pervez Hoodbhoy The year was 1972 and all the big guns of physics had turned up to hear Prof۔Abdus Salam speak at a joint MIT Harvard seminar۔It was rare for so many of the famous to come, but this was no ordinary seminar and here was no ordinary speaker۔Salam confidently navigated this arena, the graveyard of many a bold idea, presenting his work and easily disposing of the questions which followed۔Obviously something big was going on but I understood little what he said; as a mere master's student in physics I was far too unknowledgeable۔After the applause had died down and the seminar was declared over, I momentarily thought about introducing myself but could not summon the courage۔My second encounter with Salam was no less daunting۔I had just finished my Ph۔D۔in nuclear physics and was the ICTP in Trieste, Salam's proud creation۔One day we happened to be in the same elevatur۔After introducing myself, I asked him for advice on physics matter that was occupying my mind then۔"Go read it in a book", was his curt reply۔I was mortified۔People told me later that asking him easy questions was looking for trouble۔It was not until many years later - 1984 to be precise that I approached Salam again۔This time it was different۔Perhaps he had mellowed, or may be I was slightly less ignorant now۔I could now discuss with him many issues, ranging from scientific ones to philosophy and Pakistan's scientific development۔He didn't insist that I always agree with him, but clearly preferred that I did۔One day he asked me if I would like to co-author an article with him۔I instantly agreed feeling much honored۔Strong, assertive, enthusiastic, vibrant, bluntly authoritarian, and with a mind sharp as razor's edge, Abdus Salam was a most remarkable person۔Born in a lower middle-class family in a village near Jhang, he went to a perfectly ordinary Urdu-medium school۔One of his brothers, who now lives in Islamabad, says that as a boy Salam had never seen an electric light until one day he was told about it by somebody, at which point he was wonder struck۔Subsequently, he was delighted to go to Lahore and have the exquisite pleasure of studying under an electric light۔An unsophisticated home and environment notwithstanding, this child prodigy mastered his studies and rapidly outpaced his teachers who recognized and respected the young boy's talent, and bore him no grudge۔Salam's talent for physics and mathematics soon brought him fame and recognition after he set off to England on a scholarship۔In 1949 he earned a first- class degree in physics from Cambridge University in just a year۔Then in 1950 he solved an important problem in renormalization theory and instantly became a minor celebrity۔In 1951 he returned to Government College, Lahore, but found to his disappointment that research was not encouraged, even frowned upon۔Without a library or colleague to talk to, he reluctantly went back to Britain in 1954۔By the early 60's, Salam was already one of the world's top particle physicist with an enviable reputation in this most difficult and fundamental area of search۔In all he was to win 20 international prizes and honors۔Salam started to skillfully use his growing reputation to push his European and American colleagues